NTN Corp. : 01/11/2012 Development of “Parallel link High speed Angle Control Equipment” for high-speed, high-precision positioning [News]
January 11, 2012 at 02:25 am EST
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January 11, 2012
NTN Corporation (hereafter, NTN) has developed the
"Parallel link High speed Angle Control Equipment", a
compact device that allows high-speed, high-precision
positioning over a wide range of moving angles.
Angle positioning control mechanisms usually consist of a
parallel link mechanism*1 or a serial link mechanism*2.
There have been issues associated with these mechanisms,
including the larger size of devices when using parallel
link mechanisms, or the lower positioning speed when using
serial link mechanisms due to the weight of the moving
parts.
The "Parallel link High speed Angle Control Equipment"
developed by NTN employs a proprietary parallel link
mechanism*3. This allows the associated device to be
designed smaller and move over a wide range of angles. A
newly developed drive mechanism also allows coordinated
control of the angle of each of the three stationary arms,
which ensures high-speed positioning, even when compact
motors are used. A control method that allows minor
reciprocal interference between the three arms serves to
cancel out play (backlash) between rotating parts and
increase positioning precision tenfold from ± 0.5 mm to ±
0.05 mm.
NTN will be marketing the newly developed product as a
device that helps to improve productivity of automated
production equipment that requires high-speed,
high-precision positioning over a wide range of moving
angles, in a space-efficient package.
*1
A mechanism that supports a single tip with multiple
arms, where each arm is connected in parallel.
*2
A link mechanism that connects multiple links in
series, which is often used in industrial robots
(jointed-arm robots).
*3
Mechanism comprising of three sets of similar link
systems between the moving and stationary link hubs.
Each link system consists of a rotating L-shaped arm
attached to the outer circumference of the moving and
stationary link hubs, and a rotatably connected
intermediate link connecting the axis of rotation of
the end of each hub in a single location.
[ Features ] Allows free tracing of operating paths
utilizing its high-speed, high-precision features.
(1)
High-speed
:
positioning at 10-points/second
More than 20% faster when compared to a serial link
mechanism (when attached with an 800 g load)
(2)
High-precision
:
tenfold improvement in repeated positioning precision
(compared to conventional NTN product)
± 0.5 mm
NTN Corporation is one of the world's leaders in manufacturing and marketing of bearings, constant velocity joints and precision equipments. Net sales break down by market as follows:
- automotive industry (62.9%);
- automotive repair (19.6%);
- industrial machinery construction (17.5%).
Net sales break down geographically as follows: Japan (29.1%), America (27.6%), Europe (21.7%) and other (21.6%).
NTN CORPORATION 
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